19:6
Joab tells David he loves those who hated him, i.e. Absalom, but hated those who loved him, i.e. all those who had remained faithful to him. David could have personal feelings, but he also had responsibilities as king of the nation, as God’s leader of the nation. This was no way to run a nation. There was a danger that the men would lose heart and turn away from David. It seems to them as if David would rather they had all died, rather than Absalom.
19:7,8
Joab tells David to pull himself together and go out and encourage the people. Sometimes we need someone to tell us to “pull ourselves together”. David was being utterly self-centred. To say this may seem hard-hearted, but while we should not deny the feelings we have, we should not let our lives be ruled by them. Joab tells David he is in danger of losing the allegiance of all the men. So David takes his seat in the gateway, and all the men come before him. “Meanwhile the Israelites had fled to their homes”. It seems that the nation is divided, and this division would be formalised after Solomon.
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